Much has been made of the Minnesota Timberwolves’ potential future. Many media outlets reported that the Wolves might try to trade for Kevin Durant, the legendary scorer and Anthony Edwards’ favorite player, this summer.
A Durant trade would be extremely complicated. Both teams are over the second apron, meaning there are significant trade restrictions. Durant’s $54 million contract next season is challenging to match, likely requiring Julius Randle and multiple other players, potentially Jaden McDaniels and Rob Dillingham.
That would be a lot to offer for Durant, especially given he will be an unrestricted free agent in 2026. Durant has had a peripatetic career and occasionally wears out his welcome. Whoever trades for Durant next will be his fourth team in six years, and the Wolves need to create stability around Edwards.
While Durant is not the sole reason for the trouble in Phoenix, the Suns are a fine example of new ownership syndrome’s perils, as Bill Simmons calls it.
Optimism was high when Mat Ishbia bought the Phoenix Suns and the WNBA’s Mercury for a cool $4 billion in February 2023. After two decades under Robert Sarver, who left amid scandal, it felt like a needed change. It also meant the franchise would welcome fresh ideas and a new approach.
The Suns were less than two years removed from an NBA Finals appearance, in which they had lost 4-2 to the Milwaukee Bucks. However, in Ishbia’s first half-season as owner, their season ended when the Denver Nuggets beat them in the second round. After losing to Denver, Ishbia felt he needed to shake things up despite moderate success in the previous years. He wanted to make another blockbuster deal after sending Mikal Bridges to Brooklyn for Durant in a three-team trade.
In June 2023, the Suns traded for Bradley Beal, who had little previous contribution to winning with the Washington Wizards and was on a huge contract with a rare no-trade clause. If Phoenix’s new big 3 didn’t work out, the Suns would have almost no way to rid themselves of Beal’s enormous contract.
It has most certainly not worked out.
The Suns are only 29-33 this season, outside of the Western Conference play-in, and have almost no viable way to create a contending roster. Two NBA title-winning coaches, Frank Vogel and Mike Budenholzer, have been unable to build a successful, competitive culture. Budenholzer will likely be an easy fall guy for the season’s faults come the summer. Still, it seems unlikely that any coach would do a better job.
The players appear frustrated with each other. The Suns don’t have an NBA-caliber big man, and they hold virtually no picks of any value. Phoenix’s three first-round picks are all part of multiple swaps that will likely end up in the 20s, at least in future drafts. Plus, they have almost no ability to trade players as a second-apron team.
While they are stuck with Beal for now, it appears inevitable they will move on from Durant. But it’s worse than that because, given the state of the roster, teams will try to pry Devin Booker from the Suns. Booker is Pheonix’s franchise player, who has played there since the Suns drafted him in 2015.
The Suns are the ultimate warning to the Wolves about the perils of new ownership syndrome. Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez won ownership of the team from Glen Taylor in arbitration. They will have full ownership of the Timberwolves and Lynx, assuming that the NBA Board of Governors approves the sale from Taylor.
However, Minnesota may have escaped new owner syndrome, given that Lore and Rodriguez have been part of the decision-making process at the franchise since first agreeing to purchase the Wolves in 2021. They were instrumental in hiring Tim Connelly away from the Nuggets and helped push for the haul to acquire defensive anchor Rudy Gobert.
New owner syndrome is unsurprising. A billionaire, used to getting their own way and achieving success, takes over a billion-dollar sports franchise and makes a signature move. However, it often backfires. The Dallas Mavericks have already traded Luka Doncic for an aging Anthony Davis and a single pick. In soccer, Todd Boehly bought Chelsea and gave crazy expensive contracts to players who did not perform, leading Boehly to take a back seat.
Lore and Rodriguez have been fairly shrewd and appear to have faith in Connelly – the man they hired to make these decisions. One could argue that the ‘new owner syndrome’ already manifested in the Gobert trade. That decision saw the Wolves reach only their second Western Conference Finals in franchise history.
It’s tempting to swing big again with Durant. Doing so might work well, given that the Wolves have hovered around the play-in this season. However, giving up a huge haul or trading the future in exciting young prospects might not be best for the roster’s long-term future.
Look at the Phoenix Suns. They went all-in and have little way to compete in the West again for at least half a decade, probably longer. The NBA is ruthless, and Minnesota’s new owners must exercise caution before making any franchise-altering decisions.